Held during the Gala Dinner at the recent MDC 2023 in Ottawa, Canada, the MDC Awards included an additional category for the first time, namely the ‘Best Sustainability Initiative’.

The central bank of Morocco, Bank Al- Maghrib, has issued a new coin series into circulation as part of its latest round of currency updates. Alongside new 10 centimes, 20 centimes, ½ dirham, 1 dirham, 5 dirham, and 10 dirham coins, an updated 100 dirham banknote has also been issued.

The 2023 MDC received record-breaking 204 entries in total for the five categories of the 2023 MDC Awards, with the ceremony taking place during the MDC Gala Dinner, held at the Canadian Museum of History.

The Royal Canadian Mint has issued its latest circulating commemorative $2 coin, honouring influential 20th century visual artist Jean-Paul Riopelle. Released to mark the 100th anniversary of his birth, the coin marks the artist’s contribution to Canada’s cultural heritage.

At the recent Mint Directors Conference in Ottawa, the Mint Directors Association (MDA) was formally announced. It has now been legally incorporated as a not-for-profit association, and is the successor to the MDC, the looser association of mint directors that has been in existence since 1962.

Banco de Guatemala and the Mint of Finland have announced the signing of a new contract for the production and supply of circulation coins from the former to the latter. The Mint of Finland will produce and supply 400 million pieces of 1 quetzal circulation coins, with deliveries taking place between 2023 and 2025.

The Royal Australian Mint (RAM) recently published its annual report for 2022. In the year, 110 million circulating coins were supplied to banks, a decrease of 19 million from the 119 million supplied in 2021-2022.

The 2023 Mint Directors Conference took place in Ottawa, Canada, earlier this month. Hosted by the Royal Canadian Mint, the event was the first MDC held in five years and welcomed over 250 delegates from mints and the wider industry across the globe.

Following the announcement and subsequent issue of a new royal effigy for the obverse of the United Kingdom’s coins, The Royal Mint has recently unveiled eight new reverse designs for a completely updated set of the nation’s circulating coinage.

Gold Corporation, which trades as The Perth Mint, has released its 2022-23 annual report, which reports a pre-tax profit of $52.67 million for the year to end June.

The Bank of Estonia (Eesti Pank) has launched a coin collection campaign in collaboration with Estonian-based postal service and logistics company Omniva. The campaign aims to collect one million coins through a pilot programme whereby people can exchange their accumulated coins in selected post offices.

The East India Company has produced ‘The Crown Coin’, one of the most expensive coins ever produced, to commemorate the late Queen Elizabeth II.

The Isle of Man is consulting the public on proposals to modernise its banknotes and coins. According to the Manx Treasury, the change of monarch from Queen Elizabeth II to King Charles III is an opportune time to consider the designs.

The International Mint Industry Association (IMIA) has issued a position paper on the European Commission’s (EC) draft regulations on the legal tender of euro banknotes and coins.

Dr Tomasz Jagielinski has embarked on a new endeavour by forming NXTGenDetect, LLC, a company that will specialise in providing comprehensive consulting and advisory services in the field of security, detection, and authentication, focusing on banknotes, coins, and other high- value items.

Established in 2020 to support national law enforcement authorities in their efforts to fight financial and economic crimes and aid in international cooperation and information exchange, Europol’s European Financial and Economic Crime Centre (EFECC) has just released its first threat assessment on the matter.

As announced last month, Coiniverse, the coin collecting app set up by the Mint of Finland, has been spun out into an independent startup. Coin & Mint News™ spoke to its new CEO, Mikko Sievänen, about the new company’s plans for development, the role of digitisation in the coin sector, and where he sees both numismatics and Coiniverse in the future.

The Croatian National Bank has issued the country’s first circulating commemorative €2 coin. Minted by the Croatian Mint, 250,000 coins – commemorating Croatia’s adoption of the euro as its currency at the beginning of this year – have been released into circulation.

Brazilian gold aggregator Fênix DTVM, in partnership with company Minespider, has completed their first phase of a gold traceability project in Brazil.

We continue our periodic series of articles on the latest annual reports from central banks and the information they provide on cash, along with circulating and commemorative coins.